BelieveTheSign

Q&A on the Godhead

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We have done our best to provide answers below on questions that have been emailed to us.

Is there such a thing as eternal sonship?

Please see our article on Eternal Sonship.

What is the meaning of "begotten"?

Question:In John 3:16 the bible says: "For God so loved the world that He sent his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believe in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life."

I guess my question is: Does a Spirit have a beginning? But Jesus, was begotten. That must have happened sometime, whenever. And if the begotten Son occurred sometime, isn't it reasonable to assume he had a beginning. If the Son was begotten does it not mean that in fact the Son had a beginning and therefore the Father had a beginning but God, the creator is Eternal?

There are a number of additional passages in the KJV that use the term "begotten" including the following:

...(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)...[1]
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.[2]
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the bonly begotten Son of God.[3]
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world.[4]

The word "begotten" used in these passages is the Greek word "μονογενής" (monogenés) which means pertaining to what is unique in the sense of being the only one of the same kind or class. For example, in Hebrews 11:17 it states "he who had received the promises presented his only son" or "… was ready to offer his only son". Abraham, of course, did have another son, Ishmael, and later sons by Keturah, but Isaac was a unique son in that he was a son born as the result of certain promises made by God. Accordingly, he could be called a μονογενής son, since he was the only one of his kind.[5]

This is a clear example of the current inadequacy of some passages in the KJV. The above passages are translated completely differently in more modern translations:

We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only,38 full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.[6]
No one has ever seen God. The unique God,15 who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.International Standard Version, Jn 1:18 (Yorba Linda, CA: ISV Foundation, 2011).
No one has ever seen God,
'not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made him plain as day.[7]
...but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s unique Son.[8]

Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", if he was not the eternal son?

God made Jesus "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). "Lord" refers to the word "Jehovah", which is the self-existent one. Jesus was Jehovah in flesh, born of a woman. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed" Messiah by God. There are examples in the Bible of when God had entered flesh before, but never as the son of God. Here are two examples:

  1. When King Nebuchadnezzar threw three Hebrews into a furnace, he saw four "men" walking around, and declared that the fourth man was "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). This man was "like" the Son of God as he was God in the flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.
  2. Melchizedek ate bread and drank wine with Abraham, just like Jesus had communion with his disciples (Genesis 14:18). The Bible says that Melchizedek was made "like unto the Son of God" and was without beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3). Melchizedek was also God in flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.

When Jesus said "before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) and referred to the glory he had with the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5), he was revealing that he was the possessor of the soul and spirit of God. Jesus' body was the temple of God (John 2:19) made of a woman, but inside he was the invisible God, Jehovah, of the Old Testament. His body was irrelevant to his existence, but relevant to the process of our redemption. Those who believe are also called the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16). Just as the Woman was from the flesh of Man, those who believe are from the Spirit of God, and are eternal.


Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)

I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)


How could God speak from heaven, if he was not another "person"?

Jesus, born of a woman, was subject to gravity, death, and time. God is not subject to any of these things. If the Spirit of God can continue to work outside of your frame of existence, and you are a son of God, then there is no reason why the Spirit of God would be restricted from working outside of Jesus' body while Jesus was on earth.


If the Son had a beginning, does he also have an end?

The body of Jesus was formed in Mary's womb, and the body of Jesus died on a cross and was placed in a tomb. The Son of man was born, and the Son of Man died. The Spirit of Jesus, however, is the eternal Holy Spirit, also known as the Word, which was with God and was God in the beginning (John 1:1).

When Jesus rose from the dead he proved that God's life in the Spirit of his Son is eternal, and is not subject to death. Jesus then ascended into heaven, was glorified, and returned to the earth to minister to his disciples (John 20:16-17, John 20:27). When Jesus returned he was no longer confined to the laws of nature, but was able to appear and disappear at will as the Son of God. All of the functions of his natural body - memory, sight, taste, mass, etc... - existed and restricted only on command.

Jesus prophesied that he had come from the Father and would go back to the Father (John 16:28). Paul writes that "when all things shall be subdued unto him," (including death) "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him , that God may be all in all." (I Corinthians 15:28). Jesus became the Saviour by submitting his spirit into the hands of the Father (Luke 23:46) - and Paul's writing prophecies of another submission which will produce an even greater result.


What does "adoption" mean in the Bible?

In Western society, adoption is the process of legally claiming an orphan or another person's child as your own child. In Eastern society, adoption also means the process whereby a son comes to power with his father over his inheritance (Galatians 4:1-2). If a son did not prove himself to be of sound judgment, his inheritance was instead given to a faithful servant (Proverbs 17:2).


Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. (Proverbs 17:2)


Even though he was the Son of God bodily, Jesus could not fulfill the scriptures until he had been adopted as a son, being given authority over his inheritance, by the Father. This adoption was made at Jesus' baptism, when the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove, and a voice spoke from heaven saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This adoption was later confirmed when Jesus was transfigured, and spoke with Moses and Elijah. Again a voice from the midst of a cloud saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5)

Because Jesus was the adopted Son of God, he also gave us the right to be adopted into the inheritance of God through our obedience to his Word.


Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:8-9)


Conclusion

In spite of this explanation, the mystery of the Godhead will only be "known" to those who are elected and predestined by God. You may not like the fact that God has control over your eternal destination, but Jesus said "neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)

However, God gave instruction for those wanting to know him and have not received the Holy Ghost, for the scriptures say that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." (I Corinthians 12:3) The instructions God gave to receive the Holy Spirit are:

  1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)
  2. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38)

For more on receiving the Holy Spirit, click here


For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7)


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  1. ↑ The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 1:14 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009).
  2. ↑ The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 1:18 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009).
  3. ↑ The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 3:18 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009).
  4. ↑ The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Jn 4:9 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009).
  5. ↑ Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., 590 (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996).
  6. ↑ Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible, Jn 1:14 (Biblical Studies Press, 2006).
  7. ↑ Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Jn 1:17–18 (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005).
  8. ↑ International Standard Version, Jn 3:18 (Yorba Linda, CA: ISV Foundation, 2011).
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